"michaelfan@..." <michaelfan@...>
wrote:From: "michaelfan@..."
To: michaelfan@...
Subject: Michael Waltrip Fan Club Message....
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2004 12:24:13 -0400


st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
NAPA Racing_____________



WALTRIP’S TOP-10 RUN

TARNISHED WITH 15 LAPS TO GO



Harrisburg, N.C. (Oct. 18) -- Michael Waltrip wound up 28th in Saturday night’s
UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, but competed for a top-10 finish
until lap 319 when Chase contender Matt Kenseth nudged the rear of the NAPA
Chevrolet sending Waltrip skating into the wall.



Waltrip ran as well as third under the lights of Charlotte, North Carolina’s
1.5-mile racetrack, but the damage to the No. 15 Chevrolet was too much to
complete the race.



An apologetic Kenseth was quick to let Waltrip know that his tap was
unintentional and lacking any malice. Kenseth said the wind was taken off his
car and in an effort to correct, he hit Waltrip.



“Our car was pretty tight – skating the right front at the beginning of the
race,” Waltrip explained, “but Pete (Rondeau) made good calls in the pits and
got the car loosened up for me. I know Matt didn’t purposely get into us, it
just stinks that we were unable to finish up front like the NAPA Chevy should
have. This was one of our best race cars.”



“The track bar mount was too severely broken to fix in such a short amount of
time. The NAPA team did a good job all weekend preparing for the race and
Michael did a great job behind the wheel. We ran well. Some situations just
can’t be avoided,” said newly appointed crew chief, Pete Rondeau.



Jimmie Johnson took the Lowe’s sweep by winning the UAW event in front of his
Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon. Jimmie Johnson's victory in the UAW-GM Quality
500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway clinched the 2004 Manufacturers' Championship for
Chevrolet in NASCAR's premier division.



With five races left in the season, Chevrolet collected its 28th Manufacturers'
crown and the 24th of NASCAR's Modern Era, which began in 1972. A total of five
different drivers have contributed to the 18 victories in 31 races thus far this
season that brought Chevrolet its 24th crown. Chevy drivers who posted wins
during the season included Dale Earnhardt Jr. (5), Jeff Gordon (5), Jimmie
Johnson (5), Tony Stewart (2), and Joe Nemechek (1).



The NAPA team will test at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Tuesday and Wednesday of
this week before heading to the short track of Martinsville Speedway where they
hope to improve on their 15th-place finish from the spring. The race will be
broadcast live on NBC and MRN radio at 1:00 p.m. (EDT).






Waltrip’s 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Performance Chart

Event

Start

Finish

Laps Completed
Laps LedPrize MoneyDriver Points
Daytona International Speedway

9

38

72/200

0

$246,193

49 (38th)

North Carolina Speedway

33

33

379/393

0

$92,481

113 (39th)

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

14

37

163/267

1

$100,431

170 (38th)

Atlanta Motor Speedway

15

23

321/325

0

$93, 591

264 (36th)

Darlington Raceway

39

35

181/293

0

$88,291

322 (37th )

Bristol Motor Speedway

8

10

500/500

0

$110,796

456 (34th)

Texas Motor Speedway

41

20

333/334

0

$124,981

554 (33rd)

Martinsville Speedway

37

15

500/500

0

$95,706

677 (31st)

Talladega Superspeedway

2

12

188/188

13

$112,301

809 (30th)

California Speedway

17

32

245/250

0

$101,831

876 (30th)

Richmond International Raceway

18

10

400/400

55

$110,581

1015 (30th)

NEXTEL All-Star Challenge

8

4

90/90

0

$90,400

Non-points race

Lowe’s Motor Speedway

12

2

400/400

0

$254,456

1185 (24th)

Dover Int’l Speedway

8

6

399/400

0

$123,611

1335 (20th)

Pocono Raceway

22

33

166/200

0

$89,621

1399 (24th)

Michigan International Speedway

19

10

200/200

0

$103,846

1533 (22nd)

Infineon Raceway

39

4

110/110

0

$147,646

1693 (18th)

Daytona International Speedway

2

13

160/160

57

$118,331

1822 (18th)

Chicagoland Speedway

39

9

267/267

0

$129,556

1960 (18TH)

New Hampshire Int’l Speedway

4

6

300/300

0

$110,481

2110(16th)

Pocono Raceway

11

36

100/200

0

$88,121

2165 (17th)

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

28

20

160/160

0

$164,856

2268 (18th)

Watkins Glen International

18

20

90/90

0

$92,366

2371 (17th)

Michigan International Speedway

17

17

200/200

1

$97,421

2488 (17th)

Bristol Motor Speedway

36

27

481/500

7

$105,961

2575 (17th)

California Speedway

21

23

250/250

10

$115,606

2674 (17th)

Richmond International Raceway

19

13

399/400

0

$96,836

2798 (16th)

New Hampshire Int’l Speedway

16

9

300/300

39

$103,956

2941 (16th)

Dover International Speedway

5

16

397/400

0

$96,671

3056 (16th)

Talladega Superspeedway

14

25

188/188

7

$98,786

3149 (16th)

Kansas Speedway

26

11

267/267

0

$79,075

3279 (16th)

Lowe’s Motor Speedway

6

28

319/334

0

$

3358 (16th)

Total/Avg.







190

$3,505,711

3358 (16th)



UAW-GM Quality 500 (Race #31)



Top- five finishers: 1. Jimmie Johnson

2. Jeff Gordon

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

4. Kurt Busch

5. Joe Nemechek



Dale Earnhardt Inc.: 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

28. Michael Waltrip



Championship Standings



Top Five: 1. Kurt Busch

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

3. Jeff Gordon

4. Elliott Sadler

5. Mark Martin



Dale Earnhardt Inc. 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

16. Michael Waltrip













Michael Waltrip Fan Club











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